Built before the stock market crash, a Greg Norman golf course then known as Temenos was supposed to anchor a new boutique resort development on Anguilla, but the linchpin was always the sale of very high-priced villas alongside the course, symptomatic of an era when just about every major golf project which was driven by real estate speculation. But the timing was exceedingly poor, only a tiny number of homes got sold, and in 2008 the project went under. For several years, this beautiful course, which cost a small fortune to build (published estimates run around $50 million, making it one of the most expensive ever in the world) and virtually no one ever got to play, lay shuttered.
Fortunately, there is a happy ending to this story.
The course was purchased at auction by Leandro Rizutto, who immediately spent several million dollars bring it back into playing shape. Rizutto is owner of home-goods producer Conair Corp., which among many other things owns the Conair hairbrush and hair dryer brands, and kitchen appliance and cookware giant CuisinArt. Not coincidentally, Rizutto also has his own flagship luxury resort, the CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa on Anguilla, which happens to sit immediately adjacent to the former Temenos course. It was the acquisition of the golf course that led the resort, best known for its food centric approach with vast hydroponic gardens, cooking and wine tasting classes, plus a huge spa, to add “golf” to its name.
As a result of all this turmoil, closing, reopening and a name change from Temenos, which had never gained any traction, to CuisinArt, which has nothing to do with golf in the public mind, the course has remained under the radar and many travelers have never heard of it. That’s a pity, because I finally got to visit and it is wonderful. I’ve written a lot on Norman’s work over the years, interviewed the former longtime World Number One player several times, and been to many of his designs. I’ve long had this one on my list and it was worth the wait.
The course sits on a gently sloping piece of land overlooking the turquoise waters of Rendezvous Bay, the Caribbean with stellar views across the short channel to the impressively mountainous island of St. Martin/St. Maarten, along with views of the more imposing and dramatic volcanic peak that is the island of Saba. While the course does not have the right to on the water’s edge holes that epitomize island courses like Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, it has stunning panoramic vistas that seem to factor on almost every hole, including the every first tee and from anywhere in the clubhouse. That is to say there is not the usual slow build up to drama that you get in many oceanfront designs, but rather vivid in your face beauty right out of the gate. In fact the first hole is one of the best, a great opener, a modest length par-4 straight towards the Caribbean with a wide landing area, narrowing on the second shot and dropping forty feet from tee to the tiered green at the edge of a saltwater lagoon near the beach.
One of the reasons the course was so expensive to build is that it has vast expanses of elaborate stonework, much of it in the form of retaining walls surrounding its many lagoons and creeks, and water is omnipresent here, both on the course and in the views. Nonetheless, it plays like a resort course with wide fairways and generous landing areas, and while balls can easily disappear into the thick jungle lining the holes or the several bodies of water, it is hardly punishing, and to the contrary, quite playable for all abilities, with five sets of tees stretching from 5,317 to 7,063 yards. My only caveat is that when I played the course had just reopened from its annual off-seasons 6-week maintenance closing and the greens were still running quite slow. When they speed up it will not be quite as vulnerable to scoring, with many greens that are fringeless and slightly elevated with drop off areas that encourage near misses. If there is a signature hole it is the par-5 tenth with water down the left that the cuts across the fairway before the green complex, creating a sort of peninsula green finish. As is Norman’s style, the par-3s are especially strong and greatly varied in length, offering four distinct experiences.
I’ve played golf all over the Caribbean and Mexico, including almost every highly acclaimed course, and this is worth of inclusion in the top tier. It is the only golf course on Anguilla, open to the public, whether you are staying right on site at the Cuisinart Golf Resort & Spa or at another property on the island. The rental clubs are first rate, brand new Titleist sets with Vokey Design wedges and Scotty Cameron putters, there is a full practice facility, plus instruction available, and even the landscaping around the course is impeccable eye candy. It is very lightly played, even in peak season, since Anguilla is largely a romantic couples’ escape, which creates the added bonus ambiance of having the course as your own private plaything. And since CuisinArt is a food forward resort, this concept extends to the charming clubhouse grill, with verandah seating overlooking the Caribbean, where I enjoyed such interesting options as curried oxtail empanadas and Sriracha honey chicken wings.
(I was a guest of the CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa during my recent visit to Anguilla)
Follow Me on Twitter Here
